On the Peace Corps

The article is several months old, but it hits some topics I've discussed with fellow PCVs recently and so I'd like to make some comments and dust off my soapbox for a spell.

I'm quite torn on pieces like this, my judgment obviously clouded by feeling a little bit defensive. I agree with the man, on the face of it, and with all his major points that I have any frame of reference on which to comment. However, I also feel I am one of the young, unqualified, inexperienced applicants who has performed to higher standards than some with more years and a thicker resume. I can compare numerous colleagues and predecessors and their varying degrees of impact based upon age and work experience - both developmentally and in cultural understanding - and not always favorably for those with more gray hair than youthful impudence.

Granted, providing anecdotal cases does little to prove any point that would assert that it is unfair to characterize in a general manner younger volunteers and their relative weaknesses in their respective program areas when compared to people with richer histories of such work. And it may well be the case that were we to look at straight percentages of Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) who could be considered to have been effective in both those roles that those over 35 may have the more impressive numbers. However, we've seen spectacular failures from a range of backgrounds and ages as well as great successes from people who appear incredibly average or green on paper.

A greater emphasis on recruiting only those with the shiniest accolades will not adequately address the issues raised in the article - not only because casting a more selective net may not be realistic, but because it does not take into account significant contributing factors to ultimate success in service.

More needs to be done to judge the character of applicants. A friend of mine said that she imagined being surrounded by a group of people who all held the same values dear. This is sadly not always the case and even in short conversations with the most abrasive amongst us (I would arrogantly hope to include myself in that demographic) it's not hard to get a glimpse into those who take the work seriously and those who simply do not. The volunteers who have made the most impact have been those who exhibited the most courage, perseverance, and love of their work and their community. Those who didn't have the requisite knowledge or skills acquired them if they had the passion to do so. Those who came with aforementioned tools could not always use them because they were unable to deal with the diverse and often hilarious walls that must be overcome, circumvented or demolished.

Since the recruiters are often not philosophers, psychologists, car salesmen or any other profession that learns to quickly and accurately see the character of men, we can't - in the short term - hope that the problem will be stopped at the first interview. Upon several weeks of training, however, work ethic, values and ability to cope with transition and compromise should manifest to Program and Training Managers and to the more seasoned PCVs who assist with their training. If there is doubt then they should be removed before swearing-in. If they make it past that filter, then administration should take a firmer hand in requiring volunteers to accomplish what they have agreed to do. The current effect is that many PCVs kill time - quietly or brazenly - until they have something to put on their resume. It hurts the goals of the organization, wastes money, is embarrassing for those who do put in the effort, and ultimately is harmful to those volunteers who effectively go on the longest vacation they'll ever hate.

I am well acquainted with some of the hardships that PCVs go through and have myself looked for relief in most of the places that the Medical Unit has warned us about at one time or another. I know that some volunteers are placed completely inappropriately and so have more obstacles or fewer chances to thrive or even make beginning steps in accomplishing program goals. But if these things are used as excuses for irresponsible coping mechanisms and a failure to attempt to build the bridges necessary to truly love and want to contribute to the community in which one finds him or herself then that person would be better off in the States.

Age and work experience ought to carry some weight in the selection process. But I believe that optimistic and passionate people can learn the skills and motivate their counterparts into new directions in progress regardless of the level of deterioration of their birth certificate or thickness of their resume. Because of the demands the PC places on its volunteers, character of the applicant is ultimately the best predictor of level of success. While it is the hardest quality to measure in a person, there are numerous check-points that ought to be more strictly controlled and enforced to ensure high quality volunteerism both in promoting understanding between the two peoples and in affecting positive change in the host community.